Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Vol. 95, Issue 87
THE
DAILY
w w w. T h e D a i l y A z t e c . c o m
AZTEC
Tw i t t e r : T h e D a i l y A z t e c
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1913
I N S I D E T O D AY OPINION
New joint doctoral programs
STRONGER LAWS In the wake of the Chelsea King incident, it is evident stricter laws are needed for sex offenders. page 2
TRAVEL & ADVENTURE
AUTOCROSS Find out how autocross drivers spend their weekend on the Qualcomm Stadium asphalt. page 5
SPORTS
RAINED OUT
Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor
Although the end of the San Diego Classic I was cancelled, the softball team was successful. page 6
TODAY @ SDSU Music for Life series 6 p.m., Smith Recital Hall The School of Music and Dance will host San Diego-based ensemble Zimbeat. The group will perform the music of Zimbabwe. For more of today’s headlines, visit:
www.thedailyaztec.com
CONTACT GENERAL INFORMATION 619.594.4199
EDITOR
IN CHIEF, FARYAR BORHANI 619.594.4190 EDITOR@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
CITY EDITOR, WHITNEY LAWRENCE 619.594.7781 CITYEDITOR@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
San Diego State will soon offer two new joint doctoral programs, evolutionary biology and geophysics. Both programs are accepting students for next semester.
J A N E L B R UA N CONTRIBUTOR
San Diego State is classified as a doctoral research university, and for a good reason. Evolutionary biology and geophysics have joined the ranks as two new joint doctoral programs after being approved late last month. It’s been 50 years since the creation of the Master Plan for Higher Education in California, which reserved the granting of doctoral degrees for the UC system and assigned the CSU system to train students at the master’s level. The caveat, which SDSU has taken advantage of, is that the plan allows CSUs to partner with doctoralgranting universities to create joint doctoral programs. The first joint doctoral program was established in 1964 between chemists at SDSU and UCSD. The two universities created a partnership that allowed others that weren’t permitted to issue a doctor-
al degree the opportunity to join with them. The Ph.D.’s issued would be given through both universities simultaneously. Sixteen joint doctoral programs have been established between CSU and UC schools, 14 of which are at SDSU. The last full program to be approved was computational sciences with Claremont Graduate University in 2002. “The Ph.D. programs are a defining feature of SDSU,” Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Affairs Thomas Scott, Ph.D., said. Whereas the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies the other 22 CSUs as masters institutions, it classifies SDSU as a doctoral research university with high research activity, according to Scott. Evolutionary biology is offered as a joint program with UC Riverside. “Southern California is internationally recognized as an area with one of the world’s greatest biodiversity,” Annalisa Berta, program coordinator for the SDSU / UC
Riverside joint doctoral program, said. “We have a very strong Masters of Science program in evolutionary biology and we wanted to build on that to offer talented doctoral students the opportunity of coming to SDSU to study molecular evolution, genomics, paleontology, population biology and systematic.” Each program has its own curriculum. Students who will take evolutionary biology will spend their first year at SDSU and the next year at UC Riverside taking classes as well as working in the lab. The remaining years will be spent back at SDSU working on their research. “Evolutionary biology is a very broad, diverse field,” Berta said. “It is especially relevant in society today. We know we are losing biodiversity due to human activities. In order to know what we’re losing we have to know what we have that is how to generate and maintain biodiversity.” Berta said the program will also offer training in comparative genomics, which is the study of gene structures of different species
and allows the study of the evolution of infectious diseases. Students in the geophysics program will be collaborating with the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Both programs took about 10 years to develop and proceed through all the levels of academic administrative review. “The Ph.D. programs drive the designation of being a doctoral research university,” Scott said. “The faculty members from the Ph.D. programs are the ones that bring the disproportionate amount of our external funding that allows research to thrive. They really are the driving force behind what has become a major research university. It’s critically important for us to keep these healthy and continue to develop them as much as we can.” Evolutionary biology and geophysics are both accepting students for next fall. SDSU is currently in the process of developing more joint doctoral programs, according to Scott.
FEATURES EDITOR, NICOLE CALLAS 619.594.6976 FEATURE@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
SPORTS EDITOR, EDWARD LEWIS 619.594.7817 SPORTS@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
CAMPUS CRIME
OPINION, ALLAN ACEVEDO 619.594.0509 OPINION@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
TEMPO EDITOR, ALLIE DAUGHERTY 619.594.6968 TEMPO@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
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WEB EDITOR, MYLENE ERPELO 619.594.3315 WEB@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
ADVERTISING 619.594.6977
INDEX OPINION...........................................................................2 TRAVEL & ADVENTURE...............................................4 SPORTS.............................................................................6 CLASSIFIEDS....................................................................7 THE BACK PAGE............................................................8
Sexual assaults Feb. 28 — San Diego State Police issued a crime alert regarding a sexual assault. According to the report, a female victim reported she was drugged and assaulted at an off-campus party. The incident reportedly occurred in the early morning hours near Montezuma Road and 63rd Street. There is no suspect information at this time, but police are conducting an investigation. Anyone with information should contact the SDSU Police Department at 619-594-1991. Feb. 28 — SDSU Police issued a second crime alert regarding
another sexual assault that reportedly occurred in the early morning hours of the same day. A female victim reported a male suspect broke into her home and attempted to sexually assault her, according to the crime alert. The incident reportedly occurred at 1 a.m. off-campus near 55th Street and Mary Lane. After the victim was able to escape, the suspect fled the scene in a white pick-up truck. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, 26 to 30 years old, 5 feet 4 inches, stocky build, wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans and black boots. The San Diego Police
Department is conducting an investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SDSU Police Department or the SDPD at 619-531-2000.
Armed robbery Feb. 28 — Police issued a third crime alert after a male victim reported he was robbed at gunpoint. The incident reportedly happened as the victim walked near Rockford Drive and Dorothy Drive at about midnight. Two men drove up in a gray minivan. According to the crime alert, the driver exited the vehicle, pointed a handgun at
the victim and demanded his belongings. The suspects fled the scene eastbound on Dorothy Drive. The driver is described as a Hispanic male, 25 to 30 years old, 5 feet 10 inches, skinny, with black curly hair and wearing a beanie. The passenger is described as a black male, 25 to 30 years old, 5 feet 9 inches, 150 pounds and wearing a gray beanie. The SDPD is conducting an investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SDSU Police Department or the SDPD.
—Compiled by Assistant Editor Kristina Blake
City